Time to focus on education reform, say Aboriginal leaders

Less than a month before the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) votes in its new National Chief, Aboriginal leaders across Canada are calling for progress on education reform. “We are trying to get the government to understand that in order for the process to be successful, there needs to be engagement under the right conditions,” said AFN interim National Chief Ghislain Picard. Chiefs voted in opposition to the federal First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act last spring, prompting the federal government to halt the legislation and refuse any funding increases. Picard is calling for full engagement between government and First Nations and an immediate infusion of extra resources; he said chiefs and government should work to have a new plan in place by September 2015. A recently released federal document shows that Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) shifted half a billion dollars from the infrastructure budget to cover shortfalls in other areas, including education, resulting in an "inability to provide provincial-like services on reserve.” Calgary Herald |CTV News | Chiefs of Ontario News Release